Wind River Range Backpacking: South Wind River Range Loop from Big Sandy

[@AbelTravel]

Absolutely incredible scenery. Thanks for sharing your video.

[@TrailsOfWander]

Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching.

[@marciahenthorn9050]

Hiked this terrain over the past 14 years. Though awe inspiring; I still prefer to hike below tree line to see the wildlife.

[@TrailsOfWander]

Great! Both below and above the tree line landscapes have their own beauty. It is good to have options when you are on the trail! Happy hiking!

[@jasonkamm5537]

Outstanding job on this incredible video. Love your style of hiking video and makes me want to get back to the Wind River range again real soon!

[@TrailsOfWander]

Thank you, I appreciate your comment. Glad you liked the video. The Winds are great!

[@jaymenna]

Gorgeous route. Thanks.

[@TrailsOfWander]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you.

[@CDAFishboy]

Great video. I have seen some of these places, and some are on the want list. I do NOT want to deal with Hailey Pass again. So slippery and I was going up. Pictures of mine from the bottom indicate the trail splits near the top, but I did not see that. There was one 15 foot section that was loose small gravel and sloped outward. My steps were baby steps to get thru that. I have never seen anybody take pics or video during the climb/descent. On the topic of bears - back in 2015, my first trip to the Winds there was talk of black bears in the cirque. I also have never seen a bear, or bear sign in 9 trips - except one. My wife saw a huge male grizzly walk thru our campsite while I was inside the tent packing. I saw the prints to verify it was a large male grizzly. But there is little ber food in the Winds compared to Glacier NP and Canada.

[@TrailsOfWander]

Thank you for your comments. Hailey Pass is certainly a steep hike with loose scree sections requiring attention.

[@tracykooken2606]

stunning amigo ❤ !!!! and congrats on ur timing up there the weather seemed plzd 2 have out there !!!!!!!😅

[@TrailsOfWander]

Thanks 👍 - (late reply as I was out backpacking...). Happy hiking!

[@tracykooken2606]

@@TrailsOfWander u da man amigo !!!

[@YongsungKim]

Beautiful video.

[@TrailsOfWander]

Thank you Yongsung, much appreciated as always.

[@dystopianfuture1165]

You got a new subscriber.

[@TrailsOfWander]

Thank you

[@russward2612]

My mother's family has had a presence in the area ( Pinedale Wyoming) since the 1850s with many generations of ancestral graves to visit. The Wind River Range forms the eastern horizon. It truly is a special place, but it's too damned cold for me.

[@TrailsOfWander]

Thanks for your comments. Interesting. The Winds are a special place and Pinedale skyline looking East is remarkable! I totally understand your point on being cold in the winter time. I love it out there when it is the right time for hiking.

[@GaryBattocletti]

It looked like maybe you had a bear canister for your food. If so what kind did you use. It's been several decades since I've been to the Winds and now I see that the grizzly has expanded its range and now are in the Winds. I always when I could, hang my food but trees are hard to find in some areas.

[@TrailsOfWander]

Yes, I carried a bear canister for the Wind River backpacking trips. I use a BearVault BV500 which I can carry 7 days of food with. It is 2.5 LB of extra weight and certainly bulky, but I prefer to use a bear canister in bear country as it takes away the guessing of where and how to hang the food bag. As you mentioned, when camping near or above tree line hanging food bags is often not an option. That being said I have never seen any bear in the Winds (nor bear tracks or scat) and I met other hikers who do not use bear canisters and said they have not encountered bears in the Winds as well. I have not hiked in the northern most part of the range, where I think grizzly expanded their range (but I am not 100% sure as I have not researched the topic...).

[@GaryBattocletti]

@@TrailsOfWander Thank you so much for your response! Enjoyed your video! brought back a lot of memories. In the 80's and 90's I explored much of the range from the north to the south. I'm planning on a fall 2025 trip back to the Winds. Happy Trails!

[@DrJimCares]

Absolutely gorgeous! So amazing! Unsure if you remember me - we met you and your wife in the sierras last year coming off of Mono pass. What’s the most beautiful place so far for you?

[@TrailsOfWander]

Hi Jim, yes we do remember you and your friend down from Mono pass! Hope you are having a great hiking summer! Your question is an interesting and difficult one to answer for me. Frankly, I found most of the places I hiked very beautiful in their own way. Different environments, different landscapes with their own unique features. It is difficult to compare and try to make a choice... I do like the Sierras, the Dolomites and the Winds a lot but simply because they are so large and diverse with so much hiking to do. That being said, the many smaller mountain ranges or canyon areas are also very beautiful to hike. I think I can say what places I would not go back to (and for what reason), but I can't really pick a "numero uno".

[@germtheory1257]

Nice work. What is your camera setup?

[@TrailsOfWander]

For this backpacking trip I used a Nikon Z30 with a wide angle zoom lens, a GoPro 11 and some shots were taken with the iPhone 12 Pro. Thanks for watching.

[@PHILREEDSHIKES]

Great job on this video! One of the best I’ve seen! (And I’ve seen A LOT lol) btw…what was your camera?

[@PHILREEDSHIKES]

PS I’m going to use your notes for route planning

[@TrailsOfWander]

Sorry for my late reply I was out backpacking. For this video I used a combination of Nikon Z30 camera, GoPro 11 and an iPhone 12 Pro. Needless to say the best shots are from the Nikon camera (with Tamron lens), but for a multi day trip like this it is also an heavy weight to carry. So there are pros and cons.

[@TrailsOfWander]

It is good to know someone reads the video notes :) Enjoy the Winds.

[@PHILREEDSHIKES]

@@TrailsOfWander thanks!

[@rayjohn8689]

Awesome footage,but can I suggest that you insert the occasional bit of dialogue,to put things in context ?...we don't all live in the USA,you know 😉

[@TrailsOfWander]

We have chosen a video style/format where the main focus is to show the landscape of a particular hike or backpacking trip with no commentary. We provide information about the hike and the area/wilderness in the video description page. Thank you.

[@rayjohn8689]

Fair enough.